Supporting CEE’s transition to 501(c)3 nonprofit organization

December 16, 2024

Tracye Whitfield is a busy woman. She’s a City Councilor for Springfield, Massachusetts, co-owner of a property development company, mother of two, grandmother of one, and Executive Director of the Coalition for an Equitable Economy (CEE). In this last role, she recently celebrated a milestone accomplishment: achieving nonprofit status for the Massachusetts coalition of small business-supporting organizations.

“The notification letter arrived via email, and I was in my kitchen making a cup of coffee when I saw it,” recounts Tracye. “I was completely caught off guard but instantly filled with excitement!”

CEE was born in the tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping women and small business owners of color access forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Today it is a coalition of business support organizations, commercial banks, CDFIs, consultants, foundations, and nonprofits providing technical assistance to small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them grow and succeed. Along the way, Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) helped CEE navigate the financial and structural necessities to incorporate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and continue its technical assistance and advocacy work for the long haul.

Responding to Challenges

CEE is meeting these challenges and opportunities head-on as it works toward the goal of achieving racial and ethnic parity in small business ownership in the Bay State by the end of 2030.

The Coalition was founded in March 2020 as the Massachusetts Equitable PPP Access Initiative to support small business needs as the COVID-19 pandemic was shuttering businesses across the state.⁶ Among the founders was Betty Francisco, CEO of Boston Impact Initiative and cofounder of Amplify Latinx. “We had a set of players that really focused on addressing a crisis in the moment,” Betty explains. “We built deep trust with each other. That’s what eventually led to the articulation of us being a coalition.”